Questionnaire of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with
disabilities on the right of persons with disabilities to participation in decisionmaking (2015)
Answers of the National CRPD Monitoring Body of Germany to the
Questions for National Human Rights Institutions (English):
Remarks: The answers do not seek to cover all relevant information but focus on
selective phenomena and issues.
1. Please provide information on the legislative and policy framework in place in
your country related to the status, establishment, resourcing, and functioning
of representative organizations of persons with disabilities at the national,
regional and local levels;
Representative organizations of persons with disabilities (including DPO’s)
often have the legal status of associations under civil law. They are
established by private initiative and governed according to their respective
statutes. They usually are regarded as not-for-profit organizations, which leads
to certain tax relief and facilitates private donations. Most organizations are
funded by a mix of membership fees, private donations and state subsidies,
the composition of which varies in each case. In general, the organizations to a
large part depend on volunteer work. Smaller organizations, in particular DPOs
face a trend towards project-oriented short-term support which leads to
precarious job situations and increased fluctuation of staff. A number of
societal groups of persons with disabilities have no organizational capacities
and are likely to be weakly represented by others.
The aforesaid applies to the national, regional and local levels likewise.
2. Please provide information on existing legislation and policies aimed at
ensuring that persons with disabilities and their representative organizations,
including children with disabilities, are consulted and involved in decisionmaking processes that directly or indirectly concern them;
There is a Federal Government’s National Action Plan (NAP) in place which is
supposed to include as one of its elements a continuing participation of civil
society in its implementation phase, with citizens being able to participate with
commentaries, questionnaires and feedback campaigns. However, there are
still lacking overall strategies and structures for meaningful and effective
participation in order to ensure transparent, inclusive and effective participation
of all groups of persons with disabilities.
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In a number of German federal states (Länder), there have been established
by law so-called Disability Councils (Behindertenbeiräte) which are – insofar as
the respective government agency considers the matter in question to be
affecting persons with disabilities - indirectly consulted in the legislative
process through the respective government’s or parliament’s Commissioners
for Matters relating to Disabled Persons.
On federal level, an Advisory Council on Inclusion has been set up with the
Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons.
This Advisory Council, which was established in view of Art. 33 (1) CRPD,
consists of DPO’s and other civil society stakeholders. It shall advice and shall
support the government’s focal point in matters relating to the implementation
of the CRPD.
However, there is no legal provision in place which would oblige government
agencies to consult and involve DPO’s or other representative organizations in
decision-making processes that directly or indirectly concern persons with
disabilities; instead, it is in their discretion to do so or not. A binding obligation
only exists vis-à-vis the respective Commissioners.
3. Please provide information on any consultative body or mechanism
established to consult and engage with representative organizations of
persons with disabilities, including information about their composition, criteria
for membership (nomination, appointment, election, etc.) and functioning;
Länder level, Disability Councils: These councils are partly established by law,
partly by decision of the respective Commissioners for Matters relating to
Disabled Persons. Their composition differs; they regularly include not only
self-advocacy organizations but also welfare organizations. Members are
normally nominated or appointed by the respective Commissioner.
Federal level, Advisory Council on Inclusion: It was established in 2010 by the
Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons.
The process of self-definition of the council and its committees, and the
precise definition of the task, was deliberately given an open structure by the
Commissioner. The majority of the Advisory Council’s members are persons
with a disability. As observers without voting rights, there are also participating
a representative of the government’s focal point, a representative of the
Conference of the Länder Disability Commissioners and a representative of
the Monitoring Body. The Council is supported by four specialist committees
which report to it on various topical areas. The four specialist committees are
primarily made up of representatives of industry, trade unions, churches, cost
units and agencies, charities, research, as well as other thematically-relevant
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German Institute for Human Rights, Zimmerstr. 26-27, 10969 Berlin
Telefon (+49) (0)30 25 93 59-0, E-Mail info@institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
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institutions and organizations, and shall guarantee active inclusion of the
broader civil society in the process of implementing the Convention. For further
information, see:
https://www.behindertenbeauftragte.de/SharedDocs/Publikationen/DE/Staatlic
heKoordinierungsstelle.pdf;jsessionid=20D9A310B0429A389EB0ECB677EF5
E48.2_cid320?__blob=publicationFile (in German)
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbol
no=CRPD%2fC%2fDEU%2f1&Lang=en (para 284 ff.)
4. Please provide information on the efforts undertaken at national, regional
and/or local levels to strengthen the capacity of representative organizations of
persons with disabilities, in order to facilitate their participation in legislative,
policy and other decision-making processes;
Most CRPD Action Plans throughout the Länder mention a need to strengthen
the capacity of DPO’s in order to facilitate their participation. However, efforts
are mainly limited to project-based initiatives, whereas there is still a lack of a
comprehensive empowerment strategy.
In 2009, the German Institute for Human Rights (GIHR) launched a three-year
project "Non-discrimination: Competencies for Associations", funded by the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The goal of the project was to strengthen
associations in enforcing non-discrimination rights and thereby promoting a
culture of non-discrimination and human rights in Germany. Results were
made accessible through an online handbook. For further information, see
http://www.aktiv-gegen-diskriminierung.de/en/welcome/ The project was wellreceived and widely appreciated by various representative organizations.
However, efforts made by the GIHR to prolong the project were not successful.
5. Please explain whether and how persons with disabilities participate in
monitoring the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities (art. 33, para. 3), and in the nomination of experts
to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (art. 34, para. 3);
The German CRPD National Monitoring Body consults with DPO’s and other
representative organizations on a regular basis. Three times a year, Civil
Society Consultations are held at the premises of the German Institute for
Human Rights with regularly more than 30 organizations participating. The
consultations are set up in an inclusive event format designed to encourage
the open exchange of experiences and information between the National
CRPD Monitoring Body and civil society disability advocacy organizations in
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German Institute for Human Rights, Zimmerstr. 26-27, 10969 Berlin
Telefon (+49) (0)30 25 93 59-0, E-Mail info@institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
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Germany, and to discuss strategies to promote respect for and the
implementation of the convention. As a rule, one specific topic is explored at
depth in each session: either a subject of current relevance or one relating to
the work of the National CRPD Monitoring Body. There are now over 60
organizations which are regularly invited to participate in the consultations.
For further information, see http://www.institut-fuermenschenrechte.de/en/crpd-monitoring-body/civil-society-consultations/
In view of the Federal Government, participation in the Advisory Council on
Inclusion and in the Committee on the NAP can, to a certain extent, be used by
DPO’s to monitor the government’s activities to implement the CRPD.
6. Please identify the main challenges faced by the diversity of persons with
disabilities in participating in mainstream and disability-specific decisionmaking processes at the national, regional and local levels, including
challenges faced by persons who experience multiple discrimination (e.g., on
the basis of disability, age, gender, ethnic origin, geographical location).
The way in which participation in mainstream and disability-specific decisionmaking processes has been practiced in Germany until now, does not take
sufficient account of the requirements of Article 4 CRPD. As a rule, participants
are not sufficiently clear about their respective role or function and their
resulting impact, and there is frequently a lack of transparency and accessible
communication. Moreover, attempts to address the heterogeneity of persons
with disabilities and to integrate their diverse interests are seldom successful.
In particular, the interests of children with disabilities are hardly represented,
least of all by children and young people themselves.
There is therefore a need for new concepts and models of participation so as
to guarantee the necessary extent of meaningful and effective participation.
There is also a need to boost capacity, competences and resources, especially
of smaller self-advocacy organizations.
Adopting an empowerment approach, self-advocacy organizations, particularly
those of people in especially vulnerable situations, such as institutions, should
be strengthened and appropriately equipped.
For further information, see http://www.institut-fuermenschenrechte.de/fileadmin/user_upload/PDFDateien/Parallelberichte/Parallel_Report_to_the_UN_Committee_on_the_Righ
ts_of_Persons_with_Disabilities_March_2015.pdf
Berlin, September 2015
© 2015 German Institute for Human Rights. All Rights reserved.
German Institute for Human Rights, Zimmerstr. 26-27, 10969 Berlin
Telefon (+49) (0)30 25 93 59-0, E-Mail info@institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
www.institut-fuer-menschenrechte.de
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